Automatic ice maker with cube guard

ABSTRACT

AN AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER OF THE TYPE HAVING A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL, DISTORTABLE ICE POCKETS MOVABLE IN A PATH INCLUDING A FLEX STATION IN WHICH THE POCKETS ARE DISTORTED TO LOOSEN THE ICE CUBES IN THE POCKETS PRIOR TO BEING DUMPED, HAS A CUBE GUARD PROVIDED IN THE FLEX STATION AREA AND LOCATED AND DISPOSED TO LIMIT THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE CUBES CAN MOVE AWAY FROM THE POCKETS WHILE IN THE FLEX STATION, AND PRIOR TO DUMPING OF THE CUBES.

Nov. 30, 1971 T. B. WINTERS 3,623,338

AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER WITH CUBE GUARD Filed Nov. 18, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR Thomas B. Winters BY 1 W ATTORNEY Nov. 30, 1971 w 5 3,623,338

AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER WITH CUBE GUARD Filed Nov. 18, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States Patent Ofice Patented Nov. 30, 1971 U.S. Cl. 62--345 1Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An automatic ice maker of the typehaving a series of individual, distortable ice pockets movable in a pathincluding a flex station in which the pockets are distorted to loosenthe ice cubes in the pockets prior to being dumped, has a cube guardprovided in the flex station area and located and disposed to limit thedegree to which the cubes can move away from the pockets while in theflex station, and prior to dumping of the cubes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The inventionpertains to the art of domestic automatic ice cube makers.

Description of the prior art Fisher U.S. Pat. 3,488,977 discloses anautomatic ice cube maker for a domestic refrigerator-freezer in whichindividual, flexible ice cube pockets are hingedly connected to arotatable member which carries them in a circular path through a fillstation where each pocket receives water, a flex station where means areprovided to flex the pockets to loosen the ice cubes after the pocketshave traveled sufficiently far to permit the water to be frozen, a dumpstation in which the ice cube is dropped from the pocket, and arestoring station in which each pocket is swung up into a position toreceive water at the subsequent fill station.

This invention constitutes an improvement upon the structure shown inthe above identified patent, and which is considered to be the bestprior art of which applicant has knowledge.

One problem encountered with the particular structure shown in thatpatent application is that with some of the devices, some of the icecubes in being loosened in the pockets during the flexing operation movesufliciently away from the pockets as to jam part of the mechanism. Thisinvention is accordingly intended to remedy this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the invention is the provision ofan automatic ice maker of the character noted in which guard means isprovided in a location and disposed to face the open side of the pocketsas they pass through flex station to limit the movement of the cubesaway from the pockets. In the currently preferred form the cube guardmeans is structured to adapt it for attachment to the open-work floor ofthe machine shell overlying the path of travel of the ice cube pockets,and is contoured to promote satisfactory operation of the ice maker inother respects as well.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of adomestic refrigerator-freezer with an ice maker of the general characterwith which the invention is concerned installed in the freezercompartment;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of one form of cube guard structureaccording to the invention before it is installed in the ice maker, thisview being directed generally toward the upper surface of the cubeguard;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine shell with the cubeguard installed; and

FIG. 4 is a series of sequential edge views of the relation betweenportions of the cube guard and a single pocket passing into and throughthe flex station, and to the dump station.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An automatic ice cube maker 10according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1 as installed in thefreezer compartment 12 of a refrigerator-freezer of the domestic type.The ice maker is fastened to the top wall 14 of the freezer compartmentin a location adjacent a side wall so that it is in the path of the lowtemperature air discharge from air outlet 16. An ice cube receiving bin18 is located below the ice maker. Water is supplied to the ice makerthrough a supply fitting (not shown) installed in the top insulated wallof the refrigerator-freezer cabinet. Water is discharged into eachpocket individually as each pocket achieves a given position in the fillstation The main parts of the ice maker assembly as viewed in FIG. 1include a machine shell 20 in the general form of a relatively shallow,circular pan having a partly open floor and a partly-aperturedcircumferential side wall 22; an underlying open-work enclosuregenerally designated :24 and which includes an open-work bottom wall 26and a circular open-work side wall 28; and a rotatable ice pocketcarrier 30 which essentially includes a rotatable hub (not seen) with aseries of radially disposed arms or spokes 32 to which the individualice pockets 34 are hingedly connected.

Reference should be had to the noted Fisher patent for details of thestructure and mode of operation of the ice maker as a Whole since thesubsequent description will be concerned mainly with the functioning ofthe ice maker in the area of the flex and dump station.

Referring to FIG. 2, which shows a cube guard structure generallydesignated 36 apart from the ice maker assembly, the contours andgeneral planes in which various parts of the cube guard lie will bedescribed. In that connection, the circle 38 indicates the center of theassembly and coincides with the opening in the machine shell floor (notshown) through which the hub shaft of the ice pocket carrier extends.The cube guard is a molded flexible plastic part which extends throughan arc of approximately as measured by the angle formed between theopposite radially-extending edges on the right and left. The right edgecarries two upwardly-offset, projecting tabs 40 which engage with anedge of the opening 42 (FIG. 3) of the machine shell floor 44. The rightend portion 46 of the cube guard slopes downwardly from right to leftwith the cube g-uard installed.

The break line 48 (FIG. 2) indicates the general boundary between theleft edge of the downwardly sloped portion 46, and the right edge of anintermediate substantially horizontal portion 50, which has a leftboundary indicated by the break line 52. The intermediate portion 50lies substantially horizontally with the cube guard installed andcarries on its upper surface a spacer and mount block 54. At one end ofthe mount 54 a bore 56 is provided to receive a screw 58 (FIG. 3) turneddown through a hole in the machine shell floor 44. The other end of thespacer and mount includes a seat 59 of upwardly-open channel form whichcooperates with a land 60 of the machine shell floor.

The left end portion 62 (FIG. 2) has its circumferentially-extendingouter edge inclined upwardly for a distance from the break line 52 toabout the area where the ends of the slots 64 are. Thecircumferentially-extending inner edge of the left end portion 62 issubstantially horizontal and generally in the same plane as the plane ofthe intermediate portion 50. The spaced apart arcual slots 64 extendfrom about the middle of the right end portion 46 to about the middle ofthe left end portion 62.

The left hand edge of the left end portion 62 (FIG. 2) carries adepending, triangular shape flange 66 which serves two functions to benoted later. A hole 68 is provided in the left hand portion 62 toprovide access for mounting the machine shell from underneath to the topWall of the freezer compartment. A raised portion 70 adjacent thecircumferentially-extending inner edge of the left end portion 62provides space for the pivotal movement of a protuberance 72 (FIG. 4)provided on the inner upper edge of each pocket 34.

The cube guard 36 is mounted to the underside of the machine shell flooras shown in FIG. 3 by first slipping the tabs 40 into engagement withthe edge of the hole 42 in the floor, centering the land 60 in the seat59 of the spacer and mount block 54, and then turning the screw 58 downinto the bore 56 of the cube guard. Thus the right end portion 46 and apart of the center portion 50 of the cube guard are relatively rigidlysecured to the floor of the machine shell, while the remainder of thecube guard to the left of the mount is capable of flexing upwardly. TheWire spring 74 overlies the floor and cube guard except for its free end76 which underlies a part of the left end portion 62 for engagement withthe pockets as described in the noted Fisher patent.

Referring now to FIG. 4 the functions performed by the cube guardrelative to the other parts of the ice maker assembly will now be noted.The right hand view thereof shows an ice cube pocket 38 riding in itspath of travel toward the flex station so indicated by the legend. Thedownwardly sloping right end portion 46 of the cube guard is intended toinsure that if the ice cube pocket is held in an upwardly pivotedposition due to frost on the hinges, the pocket will be guided back downto its intended substantially level position. The ramps in the flexstation for accomplishing the flexing or twisting of the pockets areindicated by the numerals 78, 80 and 82. The ears 84 and 86 at the outerends of the pockets engage the ramps to effect the flexing. Referenceshould be had to the noted Fisher patent for a detailed description ofprecisely how the flexing may be accomplished in one way. As the flexingoccurs, and depending upon the particular forces exerted upon any givencube in any given ocket, and the environmental conditions, there existsthe possibility that a cube will be loosened from its ice pocket withsufficient force that it would tend to flip upwardly or in some otherdirection from the open face of the pocket and jam between the pocketand the fixed structure of the ice maker assembly. If this should occurwhile the pocket is passing through the flex station as shown in the twointermediate views of FIG. 4, the cube guard 36 limits the movement ofthe cube away from the pocket so that jamming cannot occur. Then as thepocket with the loosened ice cube therein approaches the triangularflange 66 at the left edge of the left end portion of the cube guard,the end of the spring wire engages the radially inner end of the pocketto insure that the pocket is pivoted downwardly. The triangular flange66 guards against a cube being flipped to the left as the pocket isbeing dropped to a depending position. Also the flange provides abarrier between a rising pocket on the left side and a dropping pocketon its right side. Finally, the slant edge on the flange will rideupwardly and flex the left half of the cube guard upwardly if a pocketis reluctant to drop to its depending position as shown in the dumpstation view of FIG. 4, so that jamming of a cube between a reluctantpocket and the guard itself is minimized.

The provision of the slots 64, coupled with the upward tilt of theslotted portion of the left end portion 62 (which somewhat resembles anair foil) results in that air flow circulating about the freezer and icemaker assembly providing a wiping effect upon the lower surface of thecube guard.

I claim:

1. In an automatic ice maker of the character in which a series ofindividual, distortable ice pockets are moved in a ath including a flexstation in which said pockets are subject to a twisting force to loosenthe ice cubes in said pockets prior to being dumped in a dump station,the improvement comprising:

guard means facing the open side of said pockets as they pass throughsaid flex station to limit the movement of cubes away from said pocketswhile in said flex station, said guard means being contoured to includean area to direct said pockets into'said flex station, and an area inthe terminal portion of said flex station to direct said pockets into adump station;

a machine shell having an open-work floor in a plane overlying the pathof said pockets;

means for securing said guard means to said floor to accommodate flexingof a portion thereof away from said pockets in the dumping portion ofsaid path; and

said guard means includes slot means therein to accommodate air flowtherethrough.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1966 Kesling 62-344 1/1970Fisher 62345

